Need help on changing a lightbulb (seriously)

[linty1]

Hello, we have these led recessed/pot lights and one burnt out.... how do I change it? Lemme throw a photo up for reference:

I've asked a few ppl in real life and the two most common answers I get are 1) just twist the middle circle and it should come out, like a normal light bulb. and 2) I will have to shimmy down the outer ring, squeeze some clips to detach, and when it is hanging there, detach whatever wires are connected to it.

and then after that I would probably just take whatever bulb/thing I detach to the local hardware store to get a match. So which is it? Or both wrong? Should it be hard to twist/shimmy? I want to avoid damaging the ceiling... Thank you ahead of time for the help.

 

[Eben Stone]

Looks like a normal recessed canister light. It should come out easily.

Turn the lights off. Put your fingertips around the edge of the outermost part and pull it out. Helps if you have sturdy fingernails. If you cannot get a grip you might have to use a paint scraper or putty knife to pry a little until you can get your fingertips under the edge. When you pull the light out, expect a terrible noise as the metal clips holding it in place rub up against the canister. That's normal.

 

[HazMat Shaver]

Yep. The outer ring will pull down. Spring wires will keep it from coming all rhe way out.

You can figure it out from there. Or youtube it and see others doing it first.

 

[Kentos]

Looks like there is caulking or paint in the crevice between the ring and ceiling, if there is pulling it down might pull up some paint. Just look really carefully that there isn’t. I would also hazard the guess that the bulb will just screw out. The integrated ones look different.

 

[luvmysuper]

Many modern LED lights are not intended to have a bulb that is "changed". Rather the entire fixture is replaced when it eventually gives up.
Depending upon the age of the fixture, some examination with a flashlight should help determine whether you can simply unscrew the center portion, whether the Trim ring needs to be pulled down to access the bulb, or whether the entire fixture needs to be replaced.

 

[linty1]

Many modern LED lights are not intended to have a bulb that is "changed". Rather the entire fixture is replaced when it eventually gives up.
Depending upon the age of the fixture, some examination with a flashlight should help determine whether you can simply unscrew the center portion, whether the Trim ring needs to be pulled down to access the bulb, or whether the entire fixture needs to be replaced.

Thanks everyone for the replies, I will get it a tackle this weekend (time permitting).

@luvmysuper Wow... that seems pretty wasteful!

I can't wait to give it a go, I have another one in the upstairs that could use a higher wattage one, if it exists.

 

[luvmysuper]

Thanks everyone for the replies, I will get it a tackle this weekend (time permitting).

@luvmysuper Wow... that seems pretty wasteful!

I can't wait to give it a go, I have another one in the upstairs that could use a higher wattage one, if it exists.

Many of the better LED's have a lifespan of 10 or even 20 years of average use. Who knows what lighting solutions will be around by then!

 

[linty1]

As advertised, it was fairly easy to yank out:

Noticed that the bulb also comes out by itself, ie its not one whole gasket/bulb unit... hoping this means I can just buy a new bulb:

And not the whole unit.

 

[BanjoCowboyMartaTobes]

I have replaced many LED bulbs after just a year or few in various devices/properties. If anyone has a brand/model that’s proven itself, I would love the details. Meanwhile I’ll enjoy my decade old incandescents.

 

[Eben Stone]

I have replaced many LED bulbs after just a year or few in various devices/properties. If anyone has a brand/model that’s proven itself, I would love the details. Meanwhile I’ll enjoy my decade old incandescents.

At Home Depot and Lowes, they have two sections where they have recessed lights. One area is for contractors and the other is for mere mortals. Do *NOT* buy the ones in the contractor section. Those are cheap garbage that's literally intended to "get the job done" at the cheapest possible price. I had to replace both the lights in my kitchen after one year.

For regular sized LED bulbs, I've had good luck with Philips, GE, and Feit Electric. Those have all lasted at least 5 years. I just replaced the recessed lights with Feit a few weeks ago so obviously to soon to tell.

 

[luvmysuper]

Recessed lights can be a challenge. You don't want to use LED bulbs that are not designed for "can" lights in a recessed fixture. The heat generated and unable to escape due to the surrounding fixture can rapidly degrade the life of the LED bulb.
If you do some checking, there are LED bulbs that are designed with extra heat shield for use in recessed or can lights.
They are a few bucks more, but a 10 dollar light bulb that lasts 5 or 10 years is better than a 2 dollar bulb that lasts 1.

 

[Whisky]

I have replaced many LED bulbs after just a year or few in various devices/properties. If anyone has a brand/model that’s proven itself, I would love the details. Meanwhile I’ll enjoy my decade old incandescents.

You may need to have the Voltage entering your house checked. Unlike incandescent, an LED will fry its circuit board if it gets too much or too little voltage. Unless you buy a special bulb ($$$) specifications are usually 120v. I’ve seen houses with line voltage as high as 138v in the past and the homeowners called because they were constantly burning up computers. This would be a power company issue. Also if you have LED bulbs on older (incandescent) dimmers this will burn out your LEDs even if they’re rated as dimmable. Having a lot of fluorescent lights going on the same circuit as your LEDs may also cause issues. LEDs use less power and last a lot longer (usually) but are much more prone to having issues due to voltage problems.

 

[Whisky]

@linty1 did you get the light changed out?

 

[linty1]

@linty1 did you get the light changed out?

I did go to Lowe's and couldn't find the exact same bulb, its an m16/3000k/7w bulb, and one of the figures is usually off. Either 2600k, or dimmer, like 5w etc. I had a look at the big retail b&m websites and they aren't at Canadian tire/homedepot either. The only place I could find it was on amazon, and they are no name bulbs. I placed them into my amazon shopping cart and just looking around a bit more before I check out.

 

[HazMat Shaver]

The 3000 bulb has a brighter white color where the 2600 or 2700 has a little more warmer color. More like a incadesent bulb. Stick with the 7w and bulb shape of M16. Changing the color/brightness IMO between theae two isnt going to make a lot of difference unless you put different ones close together.

Giod luck. Hope you find just what you want. But sometimes you just have to try others.

 

[linty1]

The 3000 bulb has a brighter white color where the 2600 or 2700 has a little more warmer color. More like a incadesent bulb. Stick with the 7w and bulb shape of M16. Changing the color/brightness IMO between theae two isnt going to make a lot of difference unless you put different ones close together.

Giod luck. Hope you find just what you want. But sometimes you just have to try others.

THanks for the info. I'm just afraid the bulbs will look different, as there are a few of them sorta spaced out in the living room (as ceiling pots tend to go) and that the one will look diff colour wise and stick out.

 

[Whisky]

If there’s not a whole lot of them in the living room it may be easier for you to swap out the entire trim/light in all the pots with something newer and easier to find. I replaced all the pot trims with these a years ago in our house. One piece, trim and light.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/GE-6-Pack-Classic-Integrated-LED-5-in-or-6-in-65-Watt-EQ-White-Round-Dimmable-Recessed-DownLight/1000524659

 

[linty1]

Thats not a bad idea… the only thing is 7w seems be kinda hard to find in store, they mostly seem to be 5/5.5 w variety, which is dimmer, and I find them dim enough as they are.

 

[SharpieB]

Q: How many B&Bers does it take to change a lightbulb?

A: Three. One to hold the bulb and two to turn the ladder.

Sorry, I couldn’t resist posting this terrible joke.

 

[luvmysuper]

Q: How many B&Bers does it take to change a lightbulb?

A: Three. One to hold the bulb and two to turn the ladder.

Sorry, I couldn’t resist posting this terrible joke.

or 10 million and 1
1 to hold the bulb, and 10 million to turn the world around him.